Spring 2012

I know, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. Seems like things have been pretty hectic since those back-to-back trips to DC. We returned from my dad's funeral just in time to celebrate Tyler's birthday.

Here's the birthday boy, in an odd display of masochism.

Tyler sang himself the happy birthday song, and chowed down on German Chocolate Cake.

And the grand birthday present is...Tyler's very first bike!

Loved the emblem...

We rescheduled Tyler's birthday party for the end of April. Emery and I maintained our relatively new tradition of working on Tyler's cake together, while Chris and Tyson watched the boys (Tyler, Noah, and Wesley.) Ever since Halloween, Tyler's loved dinosaurs, (often shouting, "Dinosaur - Roar!") so we made a dinosaur cake.

For the first time in my life, I actually decorated for a party. I felt so...Paula-esque.

It was fun to see a kiddie-convention on a picnic blanket! (Wesley, Auggie, and Samantha.)

Tyler accepted assistance from his older and more experienced daycare buddies when it was time to blow out the candles.

Tyler was so lucky to get so many cool gifts, like this awesome Spiderman shirt.

Finally a chance to relax and enjoy some cake!

And a nice refreshing bath at the end of the day.

In May, Tyson once again got great grades in school, maintaining a 3.75 GPA. Tyler fell in love with Dr. Seuss around that time, and gave me a killer black eye one day while reading Fox in Sox. (This photo was over a week later. It took a good two weeks to heal. This photo also shows how Tyler's birthday present unwrapping lasted into the middle of May. He was bummed when we failed to provide birthday cake a third time!)

Tyson didn't get much of a break between spring semester and summer pre-session. And then I abandoned him for a couple of days so that I could attend a conference in Minneapolis. (Oh yeah, somehow I managed to get certified as a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner the first week of April.) Tyson's mom came to stay at our house while I was gone. I'm surprised to find no pictures on the camera for the time I was gone - I suppose they were trying to hide all evidence of whatever havoc they wreaked while I was away. My first night away was hard, but the next two days I enjoyed the break from responsibility, walking all over downtown Minneapolis (in part because my co-worker couldn't read a map!), checking out local brewpubs, pool halls, and of course, fitting in the various conference sessions and politically mandatory social events. By the third day, I looked forward to a joyous homecoming, only to discover a worn-out husband and a very sick little boy.

Nonetheless, that Saturday morning (Memorial Day Weekend), I decided I wanted to build a wall for a raised flower bed in our back yard. On Sunday, being the good sport that he is, Tyson  helped me select bricks, load them in the truck, unload them into our back yard, then map out where this wall would be.


On Monday, I woke up at 5:15am, and began soaking the ground by 5:30am. I broke ground at 5:50. By 6:20am, Tyson had ventured outside, declaring, "You're doing it wrong." [Snicker.] After a brief debate, I decided to go ahead and do it Tyson's way. By 6:50am, Tyson declared, "Oh, I guess the other way would've worked."  [More snickers.] By 8:00am, I was done digging the trench.  Despite skipping the process of strings, stakes, and string levels, somehow I managed to dig an approximately level trench, following the slope of the yard. (Take that, all you sanctimonious DIY manuals!) Tyson reluctantly admitted I did a decent job.

However, his apprehension of my tolerance for mediocrity eventually got the best of him, and Tyson leveled the first layer of bricks. 

We worked together one the next two layers, and I laid the fourth. 

Tyler woke from his nap before we finished. We kept him occupied by inviting him to transfer a limited quantity of water from one container to the next - a rare splurge, and it kept him busy and cool long enough for us to get the fourth row done.

Tyler joined us in raking the dirt and re-leveling the yard. We then decided we needed a fifth row of bricks, but figured that could wait til next weekend.

Unfortunately, the next weekend, Tyson got laid off from the company he's been with for the past 16 years. A bummer, to say the least. To save money, we decided to put the garden project on hold until closer to the monsoon, to take advantage of free water.

A couple days later, another driver ran a red light and T-boned our car, hitting the passenger side, where Tyler and I were. We are grateful to be so lucky, no serious injuries. And a witness stopped, so although TPD no longer visits non-injury accidents, the other guy's insurance accepted liability. 

Tyler's cognitive development has been growing by leaps and bounds, and was quite apparent that day - just before the accident, Tyler announced, "Red light means stop!" and when the left turn arrow turned green, Tyson and I told him, "Green light means go!" Tyson then noticed the car coming towards us, and said menacingly (as though the other driver could hear him) "You need to stop!" I looked too, and said, "Oh ----. He can't stop." After the accident, I asked Tyler, "Are you okay? What happened?" and he answered, "The car didn't stop!" Now he enjoys inspecting our neighbors' cars, and discussing imaginary damage, and proclaiming "The red car stopped. This car didn't stop." At first I was concerned that he was reliving the accident over and over, but that awesome colleague of mine, Julie, reassured me, "He's practicing. That's what you do after an accident.? Everybody gets out, looks at the damage, and talks about it. That's what you did, right? He's practicing so he can be like you." 

My beloved Camry Hybrid went in for surgery last week and is currently still out of commission -two doors are being replaced and the entire passenger side of the car will be stripped, sanded, and repainted. Our loaner car is a black, gas guzzling Camry. In June. In the desert. Tyler, of course, has fallen in love with "the black car", so I fear we may be in for a struggle when we get the red car back. Although, the red car has tinted windows and vents for the backseat passengers. Surely that will be enough to make him fall back in love with it, right? (Of course, he loves "the silver truck" most of all.) I finally gave in and went to Urgent Care this week, hoping for a referral to physical therapy, but instead received a bottle of pills and a recommendation that I avoid taking them if I intend to be awake. (Helpful. Really.) Hoping for better results (like, um, a referral to physical therapy!) at a physician's office this week.

Tyler continues to love Dr. Suess - Hop on Pop and Green Eggs and Ham are his current favorites. He also now likes reading Goodnight Moon before bed, along with his dinosaur book. I hung the dinosaur decorations from his birthday party in his room, he frequently asks to be picked up so he came name them and then kiss them.  Picking out his clothing for the day is very important to him, and at times is a tough decision, requiring multiple changes. Meals go about as well. We've accepted that Tyler's not quite ready for housebreaking, but are trying to help him get ready. Friday night for the first time, Tyler actually said the words, "I need to go potty!"

And Tyson's been a trooper throughout the past few weeks, between attending classes, dealing with the insurance companies and body shop, applying for internships and jobs, going to interviews, and even biking 15 miles home from school each day, not to mention continuing to cook delicious meals for his family.

Things are looking up. We're seeing clouds in the sky, the promise of the monsoon.